Adelynn has a very special place in my heart. I met her on the Vegas strip and now she’s in Texas splashing around with me in rain boots. Her mom and dad have their hands full but she’s one of the cutest lil hams I’ve ever laid my eyes on! Enjoy these fun pics that were taken on my property! It was a fabulous idea to get a house that can double as a studio. These were for fun.

Lil Miss Explorer finding treasures in the yard.

When we were on the back porch, she made friends with my Siddhartha and said, “Baby! Hi baby!” Her momma and I were cracking up.

It felt like I woke up with a hangover this morning. I had slept for twelve hours yet had a throbbing headache. Last night, I cried and cried and cried. It’s difficult to accept that my dog Cheyenne is very close to not being able to walk. I want to hang on to Cheyenne forever. The problem with attachment to any form is that goodbyes are inevitable. You can take apart a car or a television and put it back together. You can’t do that with anything that lives: a plant, an animal, a human. There is something undefinable in everything that lives- a spirit. A spirit can’t be touched or even defined. Saying goodbye to an object is one thing but where does a spirit go? These are the thoughts that run through my mind as I watch Cheyenne limp around in pain. I carry her everywhere I can now and give her as much food as she wants. My plan is to keep her alive as long as possible- to give her the respect and love that any patient deserves. She is walking a bit better today (probably because I carry her so much) and we appreciate everyone’s positive thoughts + prayers. I pray for the ability to accept the things that I do not understand.

I had the pleasure of babysitting my friend’s little girl today. She was mimicking her mother cleaning by dipping her blocks in a bucket of water. Look at that little tummy hanging over her pants! So cute.

Michelle is adorable and sweet. My picture of the day is of Michelle just celebrating another day to live, breathe, to enjoy the moments of this life we were given. Day 84 of 365+1: a picture a day for a year.

The more that I am around children, the stronger the urge to specialize in children’s photography. I feel connected to children when I photograph them. Perhaps it is when I see the world as children do.

Joe Callahan is a real estate agent in the Houston area and a wonderful friend. Like his FB and get entered to win a free $20 Starbucks card!!! Hopefully you will win!! http://www.facebook.com/joseph.m.callahan

So the Callahans are awesome. Val is so stunning and beautiful. She’s exactly what I would have imagined a Texas gal to be as a little girl (I remember thinking Houston was so far away that I’d be lucky if I ever got to go visit and meet the people). She’s really smart, sweet and down to earth.

Their son, Caleb, has Precious Moments eyes and I’m in love with him for it. I just want to give him a big hug every time I see him because I can tell he has a sweet big soul in such a little body. Kaleb is very meticulous and thoughtful and is destined for great things. Here are some pics! I hope you can sense Callahan sweetness like I could as I was taking these photos.

Some photographers view family portraits as the cleaning toilets of photography. I let this intimidate me when attending a gallery showing with other photographers. One lady had her iPad out and was showing everyone her pics from following around President Obama. She stopped, looked at me and asked what I did when I asked her a technical question. I told her that I did family portraits and weddings. She scoffed. I smiled and backed away from the arrogance.

I feel so bad for her. She has no idea what she’s missing. While she is out in all the chaos between republican and democrat and nothing ever getting done, families are allowing me to get a glimpse of how much they love one another. Two little boys got to enjoy a day when someone cared enough for them to have fun and capture it– they were allowed to kick around huge ornaments at a park! Could you imagine that as a kid when you were taking portraits?? The laughter, the hugs, the smiles, the kicking off of a shoe(!) and sometimes, but not on this shoot, the tears. When you’re with me, I make sure that I capture what’s REAL. And all of my clients really are so beautiful.

Susie + Anthony and their family are especially unique and wonderful friends. Susie is a wizard in the kitchen and I have a lot to learn from her. Anthony is a physics nerd like my husband except he can manipulate his children with it! Their two kiddos are so much energy and trouble but that’s exactly what I love about them. They managed to break a couple of ornaments but I didn’t care. The pictures were totally worth it. And what is life if you obsess over stuff anyway? Enjoy a few pics of this beautiful family. I didn’t want to post the best of the best- a family has got to keep their Christmas card pic a secret.